I came to the library to find something new to read. I was confused, like always, so I asked the library teacher for a suggestion and she recommended The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo.
When I first read the blurb I was hooked. I read the first page and got a feeling that I would like the craft of Michael Morpurgo’s writing. So I decided to borrow it .When I started reading, I was so intrigued that I finished the book in one sitting!
This book takes us back in time, on an adventure that spans across England,South Africa and France. It also takes us through the life and tragedy of World War I from the eye of Bertie Andrews.
Bertie was a young boy who lived in Africa and had a jungle for his compound . Bertie’s father had covered the compound with four fences and didn’t allow Bertie to go out of those four fences as wild animals roamed around quite freely. Day by day, Bertie became more and more lonely until he found a white lion cub in the woods.His parents didn’t believe him until he brought the cub home. The cub was as white as snow and his mother didn’t believe him until she washed the cub 5 times!
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Bertie’s life only got better from there. It felt like Bertie needed no one else, it was only him and the cub, until a French man took the lion cub with him to France. He ran a circus and he wanted to include the white lion in his circus show. What a twist! To find out what happens next you’ll have to read The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo.
I recommend this book for people who may have just started reading novels and war based books. The black and white illustration by Christian Birmingham and the small but deep mystery at the end gave me goosebumps.
After reading this book,I thought to myself, “Is war always so cruel?” and I found out, “Yes, it is.” So I will end this book review with a thought that war will never be good.
Aarav Gandhi
Std VI A
The Butterfly Lion
Written by Michael Morpurgo
Published by Egmont
This book is available in the library